


anyway, don't be a stranger

by Yeah_Im_A_Streetlight



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: Amy Santiago Loves Jake Peralta, Crossword, F/M, Getting Together, I'm tagging so much, Jake Peralta Loves Amy Santiago, Peraltiago, Requited Unrequited Love, Stakeout, Unrequited Love, but not actually, die hard bingo? Charles ruining it for Jake? it's more likely than you'd think, it was a drug bust but a false call so they just sit there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-05
Updated: 2019-10-05
Packaged: 2020-11-24 00:13:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20898455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yeah_Im_A_Streetlight/pseuds/Yeah_Im_A_Streetlight
Summary: Amy and Jake get a stakeout. Jake loves Amy, Amy loves Jake. Get-together.---"But at the end of the day, she was his partner. That wasn’t a light thing...There’s something big about trusting someone with your life like that, simply and without a doubt in your mind."---title is from scott street by phoebe bridgers





	anyway, don't be a stranger

**Author's Note:**

> a few quick things:
> 
> a. this isn't canon, I guess, because this isn't how they get together in the show, but bear with me.  
b. set somewhere in mid-season 2. Jake and Sophia are over, Amy and teddy are also over. no specific episode, but after Road Trip and before Det. Dave Majors.
> 
> <3

The stakeout was at some old warehouse in Carroll Heights. The night, ideally, would end in a drug bust- there’d been reports of ex mobsters and kids with gang ties lingering around there for weeks. It should’ve gone to Rosa, she’d been tracking a few of the guys for months. 

It didn’t, though, it went to Jake and Amy. Leaving from work, watching the building until around midnight. If no one entered the building by that time, they were calling it and taking back the files to do more research- try to locate the spot the perps would be at for the next try. 

He enjoyed stakeouts, when they were with Amy. She made them bearable, she made him laugh, she made him happy, bottom line. She also was great at busting the bad guys, and Jake had to hand that to her. She’d saved his ass dozens of times.

“Santiago,” he called her over in almost a sing song way, for some reason that he hadn’t assessed properly (he would’ve cringed and started over if she hadn’t spun around expectantly), “We've got a stakeout!”

“With you?” 

“You bet,” he gave her a dazzling smirk.

“Nice,” she nodded, “nice. Pass me the files, Peralta, when do we leave?”

“Um, seven, I think? Early, to establish our location. We get a car, I’m pretty sure.”

“I’ll meet you outside at six forty five.” Her lips curved up a little, and she turned to go, but not before saying, “I’m glad it’s with you. As opposed to Hitchcock. Or even Boyle, to be honest, his stakeout gear is a bit much.”

“It is, right? Crazy. I listened to so many showtunes- not even good ones, the old ones where they all sound like their voices were put into some kind of manipulation app.”

“I know exactly what you mean, it’s-,” she broke off, because Rosa was glaring up at them- they were too close to her desk.

“Anyway,” Jake took this as a cue, “I’ll meet you outside. I’m glad it’s with you, too, Ames.”

“Yeah. Yeah.”

\--

Jake wasn’t sure where he stood right now, in terms of Amy. He knew he liked her. He knew she knew this. Teddy was gone. He just didn’t want to be that guy, the guy who imposed himself on her, the guy who burst in and tried too hard, the guy who “like-liked her”, as if he was in fourth grade. 

There was a chance he was scared, yeah. There was a chance he didn’t know what he’d do with himself without Amy. He just didn’t want to be an asshole, he’d reasoned through many days and nights thinking about her, because she was happy. Right now, she was happy, and who was he to ruin that?

(There was also a chance that he liked her a little bit more than he cared to admit.)

\--

They got to use the brand new stakeout car- an updated radio, a new AC, and the window locks weren’t sticky- these ones opened all the way. Amy sat behind the wheel, car pulled over to the curb. The area was close to deserted- only a few other cars sprinkled the alleyway. It was a little late, Jake reasoned, but still. Eerie.

Amy pulled a case file from under the seat, flipping through it until she turned to Jake. “Rosa’s tracked the area before. The bust is supposed to be tonight, so we’re just looking to make sure people go in the place. Then we can call for backup.”

“How do we know they’re not in there already?”

“Apparently, there’s a company that owns the second floor of the warehouse. They lock up at 10, but some of these guys have spare keys. Anyway, they wouldn’t risk being caught. Too many of them are known felons.”

“And we haven’t busted them already because we’ve been waiting for them to show us the whole… what would you call it? Scheme? I don’t know, that makes me feel like a Pixar villain.”

“Exactly,” said Santiago, a small amused smile on her face, “But, to be completely honest, I don’t know that anything’s happening tonight. Rosa said she felt like they were smarter than they looked. They have the same meet up time, place, day- they’ve got to know at least some cops are on their tail, right? They might be switching it up.”

“Cool, watch for bad guys, might not come, got it,” Jake said, smiling over at her, “I brought some snacks and stuff to do, if you want. I figure we’ll be waiting a little while- we can multitask.”

“The real question,” Amy looked at him pointedly, “is if I’m willing to play Die Hard Bingo again. And I am not.”

“Well, you know me well. I do have Die Hard Bingo,” Amy groaned loudly, and Jake laughed, “But- but! I brought you a crossword. Charles has basically ruined the partner version for me, anyway.”

“Yippee kayak?”

“No, don’t say it!” Jake covered his ears, cringing dramatically. (Amy’s laugh sounded like wind chimes, if you thought about it. Which he tried not to do.) She took the puzzle, grabbing a pen from a cup holder.

“Seriously, though, Peralta. Thank you,” Amy was looking at him in an intense way. He fidgeted. “I always have my stakeout bag, but things have been so crazy lately- I was packing up stuff of Teddy’s from all over the house, and I moved my things around with them.”

At the mention of Teddy, Jake’s smile bunched into the corner of his lips. “How’ve you been?” he asked, a little softer than he’d planned. It came out weird. “With- with Teddy, I mean- not with with Teddy, but the breakup, how… how’re you holding up?”

Because it was Amy, she gracefully ignored his awkward stammering, which he was immensely grateful for. “Oh, you know. I’m fine, really, he wasn’t- I wasn’t too invested, if you know what I mean.”

“Sure.”

“Like, yeah, Teddy’s a good guy, and he tries to be sweet, but- I’m sorry,” she turned a little pink, looking back at her crossword, “you don’t need to hear about this.”

“I asked, so- and I’m just spitballing here, Ames- I’d bet that I want to know.”

She let out a laugh in a breath, soft and still and he was not going to be able to do this. It was dark and misty and silent and there were no criminals and no people and it was just her and she looked so, so beautiful in the blue-gray lighting, water reflecting off the damp curb. She looked like glitter, somehow, and he wasn’t going to be that guy. 

“He just- I don’t know. Somewhere deep down I knew from the beginning that it wasn’t going to last forever. He’s not the type of guy I fall in love with, I guess. He was just kind of… you know.”

“Damn, good job! It’s nice to see that Amy Santiago’s got standards,” Jake held out his hand for a high five, which she accepted while raising an eyebrow at him, “not in a judgy way, obviously, just- it’s good to know you’re not going to date some dude who isn’t good enough for you just so you’re dating some dude. You know?”

“Yeah,” Amy nodded slowly, “Yeah, it is good to know! Teddy was so dull, I really thought my brain was melting half the time he talked to me.”

“Yeah,” Jake added, nodding along, “dish, girl!”

“Oh, god no, Jake,” Amy giggled, “you sound like my brother.”

Jake was only a little distracted by the way her face was lighting up, “Which one? Tell me it’s one of the cool ones.”

“It’s subjective, I guess.”

“Which brother I sounded like is subjective?” Jake raised his eyebrow now, smirking at her, “Santiago, you’re off your game. What kind of comment was that?”

“A correct one!”

“Sure. Sounds like you’re trying not to compliment me. Am I a cool brother?”

“It’s subjective!”

“That doesn’t mean anything! That’s not even a word,” Jake answered.

“Please, please tell me you know that subjective is a word.”

“I know that,” Jake scoffed playfully at her, “come on. I’m not an idiot.”

“What does it mean?”

“Hm?”

“Subjective. What is that?”

“Oh, you know! It’s like when people… look like they’re… people could be other people, it’s all wild? It’s crazy, man.”

“Sure,” Amy sighed as she put down the crossword, “but it’s almost spring, and that means your birthday, and that means a dictionary. Or some other help. Jake, it’s alarming.”

“Well, thank you.”

“Anytime.”

There was a slight banging noise, and they both straightened up. 

“Shit,” Amy whispered, “did you see something?”

“No,” Jake answered, “and I don’t think it was anything, look. We scanned for back entrances- there are none, we’re next to the only one there is, and there’s no way we wouldn’t have noticed from our vantage point. I can see right through to the door. It’s probably just some cans. I don’t know.”

“Okay,” she said quietly, “but I feel kind of bad for not watching. Let’s just- I’m going to focus for a little. Hopefully we find something, we need to get some perps in. Some of these guys have been tracked by the Nine Nine for years, it’d be great to have them in.”

“Sure,” Jake responded, watching her turn away from him towards the window, feeling only a slight pang of sadness at the end of the conversation.

The thing was, although he would love nothing more than to be with Santiago, romantic stylez and all that, there was something to be said for being around her, too. 

Sure, he messed with Santiago. And maybe she made him annoyed, and maybe he pissed her off- although he couldn’t remember the last time he’d really been annoyed with her. They teased each other, that was all. And he loved that.

But at the end of the day, she was his partner. That wasn’t a light thing. Whenever they chased a perp together, or burst into a building, or questioned a suspect, they had each other’s backs. More than that, they had each other’s lives in their hands.

Jake wouldn’t risk his life for just anyone- no, that was wrong. He would, that’s his job, but he meant more deeply. He would risk his life for anyone in danger. But trusting someone with your life? That’s something else. That’s letting them decide how to keep you safe. That’s hard to back out from. That’s forever.

There’s something big about trusting someone with your life like that, simply and without a doubt in your mind. And Jake knew that partners meant something real.

Honestly, as long as Santiago was happy, so was he. She’d been too good for Teddy, that was the reason he’d disliked them together. Because she wasn’t his in any way, and he was okay to be her partner as long as she needed him to be (she didn’t need him, he needed her. But still). If Amy was happy, he was happy for her. 

It was hard not to feel happy for her at any given moment. Amy was kind of amazing. Incredible, really, and it had been awful for him to push down that feeling. He leaned into it now, because she was incredible. He could think that. It was a fact, hell, even the perps she brought in knew that. 

Amy was smart, just about every kind there was. She was good with facts, good with puzzles, good at the Heist (he could admit that, even though she hadn’t won yet), good at detective work- good at just about everything. Talented. Funny- their banter was some of the best entertainment he could get. She was kind and sweet and tough and badass and beautiful and Jake might be in love with her, which sent his train of thought to a screeching halt. Fuck.

His first thought was that he knew this already. That he had known for some time. That was probably true.

It was just hard to face. Jake wasn’t sure he liked admitting he was vulnerable in that department. Not that being in love with Amy would be so bad- in fact, he couldn’t think of a better person to be in love with. Except that she didn’t deserve this, she didn’t need him obsessing over her. She deserved the world, so much more than what she’d gotten, and Jake Peralta was not the world. He couldn’t give her what he was sure she should have.

He was staring at her, and it was kind of creepy. He tore his eyes away from her silhouette, dark and shadowed against the blue-gray pavement, the reflections, the dark sky. Maybe he did love her.

He dropped his head against his window- it banged into the glass a little harder than he’d expected, he whispered, “Sorry,”- and squeezed his eyes shut, relaxing his jaw to hear the silence of the city. Quiet.

Stakeouts where nothing happened weren’t the good kind, anyway. Nothing was going to happen here, anyway, it was already almost eleven thirty. The guys had probably known somehow, known that this would be the night. He’d report it to the Captain later.

But for now, he needed a break. Amy kept drifting into his mind, and he didn’t try to fight back- it calmed him down, really. She made him breathe. 

He wasn’t sure how he could stay alive, stay alive as Jake, the same Jake as always, without her. 

“Jake?”

Her voice was small in the roaring quiet, and he opened his eyes slowly. She looked worried, worried about him, which hurt to see. After a moment of locking eyes with her, he responded.

“Yeah?”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I’m fine,” he answered, smiling a little sadly at her.

“If I thought you were fine, I would have asked if you were okay. I asked what’s wrong, and I know that something is. I’m your partner, Jake.”

“Ames.”

“Jake,” she looked at him, almost sad. Hurt. “You can tell me. You can tell me anything.”

“It’s just- I was just thinking about Teddy, and how it sucks. Not that you guys broke up,” he said hurriedly, at her expression, “No, it just makes me sad that he’s the kind of guy who’s asking you out. Teddy. I mean, you deserve so much better than him.”

“He was a nice guy.”

“Yeah, but Amy,” Jake protested, she didn’t understand him. “You should have more than just a ‘nice guy’. You’re more than just a nice girl, you’re brilliant and funny and cool and nerdy and… and you’re badass.”

“You think I’m a badass?” Amy smiled slowly, “Why, thank you, Peralta.”

“But, there! That’s what I mean, you’re hilarious. I just want to see you happy, not because of some guy, but it’d be nice if a guy made you happy, you know?”

“Yeah. I do.”

“And that guy, you deserve someone better than Teddy, or me, or that guy Luke, from when I kept the squad in for 48 hours? Or that dude… what was his name, something with a G…”

“Jake, did you say better than you?”

“Um. What?”

“You’re being incredibly sweet, Jake. Really. But I have to disagree.”

There was a pause. Jake and Amy’s eyes locked. His brow was furrowed. 

“Ames, I-,”

“You’re funny, and weird, and an amazing detective, and there’s really no one I’d rather have as my partner. You’ve got my back, Jake. Don’t sell yourself short.” She reached for his hand, holding it and looking into his eyes. “Really. Please don’t.”

“Amy,” he said quietly, “I can’t- I’m sorry, I-,”

“You can’t what?”

And damn, she was looking at him with so much concern and it stung. “I can’t pretend, you’re my partner and that means the world to me and I just-,”

He stopped, because he found her face inches from his own. In their position, his eyes were angled down right into hers and she was breathing lightly, he felt the air on his lips. He swallowed softly.

“Jake.”

“Amy.”

He watched the corners of her mouth quirk up into a little smile, and he was in the middle of thinking he’d never seen anything better when she leaned all the way in and she was kissing him, and he reached his hands behind to place them at her chin, and she felt her fingers do the same and it was perfect, and when they broke apart, they were still in a cop van in some quiet, empty alley in Brooklyn with blue light and Amy was smiling over at him and he was so overwhelmed with feelings.

“You- so, you. You like me?”

Amy stared at him for a beat, and then slowly began to laugh, rolling herself back into her seat behind the wheel, as she’d been leaning over to reach him. She was looking straight ahead, into nothingness, laughing quietly and Jake couldn’t really help himself.

“Amy, I know this is ridiculous to say right now, especially since we didn’t talk about that, and I’m probably making a mistake saying this now, but-,”

“I love you, Jake,” Amy said clearly, ceasing her laughter but still facing forward.

“You- you do?”

“Yeah. What, you thought I kissed you for no reason? Jake.” 

“I didn’t know!” he laughed, pushing her arm lightly. “God, Amy, I’m not a genius. I love you, too, though, I have for a while. I hope you know that.”

She turned to look at him again, and it made him a little breathless, how happy she looked. Her eyes were shining, almost. She reached for his hand.

He took it. The clock read eleven forty four. They sat in silence, holding hands and smiling softly, looking ahead into the alley and the quiet and the blue-gray and the reflections. 

They sat there, and Jake looked up at the stars with Amy in his peripheral vision and he was so lucky. And they could go out and get drunk and stay in and watch movies and wake up and cook and tease each other and they could do whatever they wanted, really, because Jake was pretty sure they could do anything, right then. 

He felt Amy’s eyes on him, and she spoke. “Do you want to help me with my crossword?”

His heart swelled, then, and he turned to her, smiling brightly. “I’m not so good at those things.”

“There was a John McClane clue the other day.”

“Tell me you got it.”

“I’ve spent time around you, Jake. Of course I got it right.”

“Noice.”

“Do you want to help?”

Amy read him clues and he spitballed- meaning, more honestly, that he talked and complimented her until she brightened and told him the answer excitedly. It was the best crossword Jake had ever done (maybe it was the first one, too, sure. But still, the best).

A car pulled up behind them as Jake’s phone buzzed. He checked it quickly. 

“Ames, that’s Holt. They’re sending a relief team. They know no one’s at the scene tonight, but they’re scoping it out, we’re good to go. Unless you want to stay?”

They exited the car. Jake tapped the window of the new police van, letting them know they were heading out. They started to walk towards a subway stop in the hazy fog, vaguely illuminated through the lighting and Amy’s light.

“See, it was nice of you to turn down the relief team when we had our bet. But now?” She turned, looked him in the eyes, stopped walking. He couldn’t see very well in the lighting, but he felt the intensity through the cold. Her hand on his chest burned. 

“Now?” he choked out.

“Where are we, Union? Yeah, your place is much closer than mine. What do you think?”

(Her eyes were glittering up at him- half amusement, half something dark and intense and so very Amy, something that made him emotional. He kissed her again, somewhere and somehow he woke up beside her the next morning, somehow he’d gotten this lucky. He would make his own relationship binder for her, he thought to himself, if that meant this would go well.

He was pretty sure it would, though. He didn’t think he could fuck this up if he tried, which was a real blessing. She smiled a little in her sleep, he noted, and he smiled with her.)

**Author's Note:**

> I finally wrote for Brooklyn 99! it'll seem anticlimactic but inspiration finally struck, I guess.
> 
> Carroll Gardens is the neighborhood (one of them, at least) that the 78th precinct controls, and that's the building/spot the 99 is based on, so I used it.
> 
> I really hope someone liked this. I tried. thanks for reading! you can message me on Tumblr if you want, I'm always down to talk.


End file.
